Looking into the text and having a solid understanding of your character is the foundations on which a good process is built. Especially with such a complex character and story such one as 'Much Ado About Nothing', there is a particular need to do some analytical work with 'Much Ado About Nothing' so as to start as strong as I hope to finish.
What are my given circumstances?
I start the play in a bombed out stately home turn army base, awaiting news from the front line. The arrival of this news is conflicting- I hope they are safe and well and yet worry at the prospect of facing my old lover Benedick. I have backed herself into a corner- burying my feelings for Benedick means I must keep up the facade at all costs, even in a time of worry and stress. The stakes are high- if the news is good, I have personal troubles to resolve, if it is bad... that could equal worse troubles for my whole family; the only family I have left. I arrive in the world of the play in a tense atmosphere of apprehension and fear.
When I arrives in the second half, my character is still conflicted- my cousin's wedding should be a moment of joy and yet I am filled with worry and confusion at the prospect of Benedick's love. I am a character constantly battling with my outward and inward emotional state.
What do people say about my character?
My character may be controversial, but there is one thing everyone is in agreement on- I am not a marrying women. My cousin says it, my uncle says it, every man I meet gets that impression, it is a universally known and discussed part of my character. People even go as far as saying they believe I cannot love. Whether that is true or not is besides the point, in general terms I am cold, spiteful, defiant young women.
What do I say about myself?
What others say about me and what I say about myself are one in the same as I have no pretences- I am not afraid to speak my mind. I will tell any man who asks that I will not marry even when they insist I do or even ask for my hand. However because my character is so conflicted, one must understand that what I say may not be the truth, even if the truth is something I myself do not know yet.
What is my journey through the play?
My journey through the play is created mainly by my character opening herself to the prospect of love that for so long she has shut herself off to. At the start we meet this women, hiding the scars of what she sees as her own foolishness, covering them with sarcasm and wit. We soon see that she is not what we may see at face value- I have deep rooted emotions that are only dug up when I start trusting again- a journey which is painful for me and causes me both ecstatic joy and suffering.
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